Today’s consumer is more aware and interested than ever in issues that affect them, their communities and our world.

Sourcing products responsibly -- in a way that minimizes impacts to people, animals and the environment -- has a direct impact on our local and global economies, our health and wellness, and the environment. We work closely with our suppliers and our clients to provide options to meet a variety of sustainability objectives.

We buy locally sourced fruits and vegetables, humanely-raised meats and sustainably caught seafood. Our efforts extend to products like fair-trade certified coffee, and reusable, recyclable and compostable plates, cups, cutlery and paper products. As detailed in our antibiotics position statement, we believe that protecting the efficacy of antibiotics and preventing the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria is imperative to the wellbeing of our global community. Working with our suppliers, we’ve taken important steps on responsible sourcing:

Locally Sourced - We are committed to purchasing local produce, grown within 250 miles of our locations.

Innovative local sourcing

We work with local communities to source fresh products.

Local Sourcing

We recognize the increasing pressure on our food systems due to global issues such as resource scarcity, volatile commodity markets, and labor inequalities. We have an opportunity to address myriad environmental, social and economic issues while reducing risk and driving innovation.

Our University of Minnesota Dining Services team is a great example of how we address these issues in an innovative way. The team works with multiple hyper-local suppliers that are part of the University of Minnesota community:

Through our FarmLogix partnership, fresh foods are more accessible to the communities we serve. FarmLogix connects farms with schools and other institutions and has been crucial to our partnership with Chicago Public Schools in serving over 400,000 students daily.

In the largest, single-day, farm-to-school procurement ever, FarmLogix helped Aramark serve fresh carrots from a small, urban farm in Milwaukee to the students of Chicago Public Schools. The farmer—a former NBA player—visited schools and talked to hundreds of students about the importance of eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

FarmLogix assisted with all aspects of the process and works with Aramark’s local culinary team to incorporate local foods into menus and provide classroom tools to reinforce the value of eating healthy food.

Our partnership offers the opportunity to implement the program in other parts of the country and through other lines of business. In the Chicago region alone, services have already extended to the Field Museum, creating unique local culinary offerings for its consumers.

Through engagement with suppliers, academia and NGOs such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), Global Animal Partnership (GAP), Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW), and many others, our industry-leading policy continues to expand on commitments we’ve made over the last several years to:

Purchase humanely-raised broiler chickens by 2024

Purchase only cage-free eggs by 2020 in the U.S. and globally by 2025

Purchase group-housed pork by 2022

Eliminate the purchase of all foie gras (since 2011)

We have high expectations for our suppliers. We’re working with them to address issues such as painful procedures, rapid growth and other practices and we work only with suppliers that show progress in animal welfare practices. In fact, we ask them for progress reports and require third-party documentation of their efforts.

As of June 2019, 32% of Aramark's eggs in the U.S. currently come from cage-free hens, including 90% of shell eggs, 23% of liquid eggs (an increase from 10% in 2018), and 14.5% of processed eggs, Globally 33% of Aramark's eggs currently come from cage-free hens, including 14% cage-free eggs in Canada, and 42% cage-free eggs in Europe. We are on track to achieve 100% cage-free eggs in the U.S. by the end of 2020, and actively working to achieve our global commitment by 2025.

Aramark's sustainability strategy is governed by a seven-member executive Sustainability Steering Committee, led by the Aramark Vice President of Sustainability, and reporting regularly to the Aramark Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors. Responsible sourcing decisions are made in partnership with Aramark supply chain management, in collaboration with Aramark businesses.

Sustainable Seafood

We work with our suppliers to find and purchase sustainably sourced products.

Of the world’s ocean fisheries, 90 percent are at risk—threatened by fishing practices that stress the environment and marine life1. We strive to buy seafood from sources that sustainably and ethically procure seafood without damaging ecosystems and endangering workers.

We are on a journey to keep improving through responsible practices, local sourcing, innovative seafood menus, and resources for our employees, clients, and customers.

Preserving and Celebrating National Parks through Local Sourcing

Visitors at the national parks we serve are interested in knowing where their food comes from. For our guests at scenic treasures like Olympic National Park, knowing the story behind the meal becomes part of their travel experience.

Our partnership with Key City Fish Company supports the local sourcing commitment of the National Park Service. Key City provides products from the shellfish beds of the Hood Canal, remote fishing port of Neah Bay, and a community of small, local family farms, including Mount Townsend Creamery and Spring Rain Farm. Our teams at Lake Crescent Lodge, Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, and Lake Quinault Lodge and Log Cabin Resort all collaborate to procure local foods with Key City.

By working with vendors like Key City, our team can describe to customers the source of our seafood, talk about the short route food traveled to the Lodge, or discuss a particular farmer’s belief in raising organic food.

Healthy People, Healthy Planet

Climate-Healthy Menus

Our purchases, from the food we serve to the vehicles we drive, impact our environment as well as our health and wellness, and the local economy. Through sustainable sourcing and innovative menus, we can reduce our carbon footprint, serving climate-friendly meals that preserve natural habitats and are good for people.

Our menus feature healthy, sustainably sourced options. In conjunction with our groundbreaking Healthy for Life® 20 by 20 initiative with the American Heart Association we have increased the amount of fruits, vegetables and whole grains nine percent across our menus. And 30% of items offered are vegetarian and vegan. Our plant-forward innovations meet consumer tastes and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and minimize demand for water and land resources.

We’ve taken another important step, in collaboration with Green Century Fund, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by implementing a no-deforestation commitment by 2025. The conversion of tropical forests to agricultural plantations for products such as palm and soy oils is a leading cause of deforestation, which is a significant contributor to climate change. So, in 2019, we’ll complete our transition to sustainably sourced soy and palm oil. As part of our broader strategy, we’re performing a supply chain assessment to better understand forest-related risks across all geographies within our supply chain.

These efforts build on a long-standing commitment to advancing sustainable sourcing practices and we are proud of the industry-leading work that has been completed, in the ongoing work underway, and the opportunities ahead.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Every day, our many efforts support our employees, clients and the world around us.

LATEST NEWS

Aramark today announced the winners of its business sector culinary challenge finals, setting the stage for the Inaugural National Finals of Aramark’s Culinary Excellence (ACE) Competition -- a showcase of the company’s United States culinary talent and innovation.

OUR LATEST THINKING

Labor forecasts anticipate there will be a significant shortages of nurses over the next decade. It is more important than ever to ensure your nursing staff is happy and engaged. Learn why creating a collaborative and supportive culture is imperative, starting today. Get the data here.

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ABOUT ARAMARK

Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) is in the customer service business across food, facilities and uniforms, wherever people work, learn, recover, and play. United by a passion to serve, our 270,000 team members deliver experiences that enrich and nourish the lives of millions of people in 19 countries around the world every day.